Car-coupling.



H. RIGGS.

UAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION NLBD APR.19.1913.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

2 SHBETSSHEET 11 WITN ESSES H. RIGGS.

GAR COUPLINGI4 APPLICATION FILED APR. 19. w13.

1 1 20,242. Patented De@ 8, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES mi. www 7W/@U27 llNlT.

SATES A nur union.

HARRY RIG'rGrS, OF MIDDLETOWN, DELAWARE, ASSIGNOR OIF ONE-THIRD T0 EUGENE H. SHALLCROSS, OF MoDONOUG-H, DELAWARE.

CAR-COUPLING.

Application led April 19, 1913.

To @ZZ who/m. it may conce/m Be it known that I, HARRY Ricos, a citizen of the United States, residing at Middletown, in the county of New Castle and State of Delaware, have invented certain new and uset'ul Improvements in Car-Couplings, ot' which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in car couplings.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of car couplings, and to provide a simple and inexpensive car coupling of strong and durable construction, having a pivoted knuckle and adapted to couple automatically with all car couplings of the same general type, and capable of being readily uncoupled without going between the cars.

A further object of the invention is to provide a car coupling of this character, equipped with means for holding the knuckle locking mechanism out of engagement with the same to enable the knuckle to open freely and to obviate the necessity of holding such locking mechanism out ot engagement by hand until the cars are separated.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic car coupling, equipped with a knuckle opening device adapted to be operated by the means for releasing the .knuckle and arranged to be automatically reset or returned to its initial position by the knuckle in the closing movement thereof.

The invention also has for its object to provide a ear coupling, adapted to be uncoupled in any position, and capable oit' coupling only when the parts are in proper operative position.

/Vith these and other objects in View, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claim, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or saerilicing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View of a car coupling, constructed in accordance with this invention, the parts being locked. Fig. 2

Specification. of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee. 8, 1914.

semi No. 762,426;

is a similar View. illustrating the arrangement o'l the parts when the upper end of the knuckle releasing lever is at the limit of its rearward movement. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View, the vertically movable locking block being supported in an elevated position by the knuckle releasing lever. Fig. Ll is a horizontal sectional view, the parts being arranged as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the pivoted knuckle. Fig. G is a detail perspective view ofthe knuckle opening lever. Fig. 7 is a similar' view of the vertically movable locking block. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view ol the knuckle releasing lever.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

ln the accompanying drawings in which illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1. designates a drawhead of the conventional form provided at one side with a guiding arm 2 and having at the opposite side outwardly projecting upper and lower perforated ears 3, between which is pivoted a knuckle -fl by a vertical knuckle pin 5. The knuckle consists of an outer engaging portion or jaw and an inwardly extending arm 6 operating within a horizontal chamber 7 oi." the drawhead and provided at its inner end with a curved lateral extension 8, projecting from the outer side oit' the arm and adapted when the knuckle is closed to extend into an approximately rectangular recess or pocket 9 in the adjacent side wall of the drawhead. The arm of the knuckle is provided at the opposite side of its inner end with a flat it'ace l0, adapted to lit against and be engaged by a vertically slidable locking block or piece l1, having Ilat front and rear side faces and operating in a vertical guide l2 closed at the top and consisting oit' a hollow shell formed integral with the top of the drawhead. The vertical guide, which forms a recess or pocket for the vertically movable locking block, has vertical front, rear and side walls, and it is of sufficient size to enable the locking block to move Yfreely within it.

l/Vhen the locking block is at the limit of its downward movement, as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, it extends partially into the vertical guide l2, and when the knuckle is released it is moved upwardly to a point near the top of the guide by a knuckle releasing lever 13. rThe top of the guide 12 is inclined, and the upper face of the locking block is also inclined to conform to the configuration of the guide. By employing a closed guide of this construction, the drawhead is entirely closed at the top and snow, water, dust and other Vaccumulation are eX- cluded from the interior vof the drawhead. The lever 13, which swings longitudinally of the drawhead, extends through vertical longitudinal slot or opening l-l in the bottom of the Vdrawhead, and it is piivoted by a transverse pin 15 to a pair of ears 16,' depending from the bottom of the drawhead and located yat opposite sides of .the opening la. The lever is substantially triangular being provided with `tapered upper and lower portions and having a rearward taper, the pivot 15 being located approximately midway .between the top and bottom of .the lever and in rear of ,the center thereof, whereby the front portion of the lever is heavier than the rear portion, and the lever rendered gravity acting to cause .it yto return automatically to its initial v position. The upper arm or portion of the lever constitutes a cam for effecting an easy operation of the car coupling and the rear edge or face 17 `of the said upper portion ofthe lever 13 is curved and arranged at `an inclination extending forwardly and upwardly from ,the rear edges of the depending ears 1G when the lever is in its initial position, as illustrated in Fig.V 1 of the drawings. The curved edge or face `then occupies a position at the top of the lever and is located beneath the vertically movable looking block 11 `and when the lever is'oscillated, it is adapted to engage the lower face of the said block 11, which is raised by .the oscillation of the lever.` The Aupper portion of the lever in swinging rearward first lifts the locking block and if the knuckle is not free to open by reason of the cars being coupled, the point or upper end of the knuckle releasing lever willwhen it reaches the dotted line position illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, engage behind the fixed catch 1.8 and reta-in the locking block in an elevated position and the knuckle in a released condition, so that the said knuckle will be free to open without necessitating a brakeman or other person vretaining the knuckle releasing lever in 'such position by hand. The nxed catch, which'is disposed transversely at the bottom of the locking block 11, has a beveled or inclined `lower face and a vertical rear edge or face forming a shoulder' to prevent' the lever lfrom swinging forwardly eut of engagement with the "locking block.V

Should the knuckle be opened while .the upper end of the knuckle releasing lever is in engagement with the rcatch 18, the arm of knuckle when desired. The knuckle releasing lever is provided yat its lower end with an eye 20, and is designed to be connected with ,the operating mechanism usually employed for unooupling cars, or with any other suitable operating mechanism to enable the operation ,of uncoupling to be performed at the sides of a car or platform of a coach without going between the cars.

A continued rearward movement of the upper `portion yof the knuckle releasing 4lever from the `dotted line position .illustrated in Fig. 2 ,of the drawings to the full line position shown in that figure carries the'upper end of the knuckle releasing lever into ensagement with a knuckle `rmelllng lever `2l of angular or bell crank forni, provided at the louter side of tits angle with a rounded bearing lug 22, which lits in a .vertical bearns recess 23, preferably formed by lQfsetting the adjacent side -of the drawhead, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, but the wall may be constructed in any manner to provide a bearing recess of this lcharacter. `The knuckle opening lever tconsists Vof a forwardly or outwardly extending arm 24 and a rear transversely disposed arm 25,V

which is rounded at .the bottom of its front face at 26 to ,coact with the curved face l17 of the knuckle releaSne' lever, whereby en .easy movement of the vparte is obtained. The forwardly or outwardly extending arm 24 tapers toward its front end, and its outer side edge is Acurved to conform to the configuration of the inner face of the adjacent side of the drawhead, and it is provided in its upper face with a transverse recess 27 through which the lateral extension 8 of the arm 6 of the knuckle extends. The front end of the forwardly extending arm is rounded and when the lever 21 is ,oscillated in ahorizontal planethrough the action of the-knuckle releasing lever 13, the forwardly extending arm 24 of the ylever 22 engages the arm of the knuckle and swings the latter from the lclosed position, illustrated in full ,linesv inl Fig. e of the drawings, 'to the open position shown in dotted lines in the said ligure.' Whenthe knuckle closes incidentl to the automatic coupling lof the cars,its arm 6 engages fthe arm 24; of the lever 21 and re- ,turnsq the latter' to its initial position. i The vertically movable locking block yis provided G5 the knuckle, which is beveled at the upper at rear'portion with lowertrapsverse recess 28 into which the transverse arm 25 of the knuckle opening lever extends when the knuckle is closed and the locking block is in engagement with the same. The knuckle releasing lever after swinging the transverse arm 25 of the knuckle opening lever 2l rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, automatically returns to its initial position as soon as the operating mechanism is released by the operator.

Vhat is claimed is A car coupling including a draw head, a pvoted knuckle, a locking block slidable vertically within the draw head and arranged to engage the knuckle, said draw head having means for guiding the locking block, a horizontally swinging knuckle opening lever fulcrumed Within the draw head and having an arm located in rear of the locking block, a knuckle releasing lever pivotally mounted beneath the locking block and arranged to swing longitudinally of the draw head in a vertical plane and having a cam edge at its upper portion arranged to successively engage the block and the knuckle opening lever to lift the former an oscillate the latter.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY RIGGS. Witnesses:

WM. F. SHALLoRoss, A. A. SPLIER.

Copies of this patent :may be obtained for tive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

